As a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), it is essential to clearly understand your organization’s cybersecurity posture and how to improve it continuously. One way to do this is by using a CISO cybersecurity dashboard to inform and guide your security strategy. With growing interest in cybersecurity from Board of Directors and senior stakeholders, CISOs can leverage cyber risk metrics and visualizations to track KPIs, deliver insights on the security posture, and lead conversations on where investment is needed.
The Importance of a CISO Dashboard
A dashboard is critical to CISO board presentations as it is a centralized guide for all cyber risk-related data, including cyber threat prevalence, compliance with relevant frameworks, and how the organization performs compared to its peers. By organizing the data into a dashboard, CISOs can focus on the details that matter most to senior executives without technical jargon that can confuse non-technical leaders. Visualizations and cyber risk quantification are additional tools that further bridge the gap between CISOs and the boardroom.
One of the key benefits of using CISO dashboard metrics is the ability to quickly identify areas of risk within your organization. A well-designed cybersecurity dashboard should provide a high-level overview of your organization’s security posture, highlighting areas that need attention. CISOs can also use dashboards to provide data on the most prominent attack vector and each attack's average loss. Board members must be cyber-informed and have context on the changing cyber landscape. A dashboard like CyberStrong’s Executive Dashboard will assist CISOs in clearly and concisely communicating with board members on the organization’s cyber posture.
Another benefit of using cybersecurity metrics is the ability to track progress and measure the effectiveness of your cyber risk program. By monitoring metrics over time, you can determine if your security efforts are making a difference and identify areas for improvement. A cyber dashboard powered by automation will regularly update based on control changes to give you a more accurate depiction of the security posture. This includes internal gap analysis that enables leaders to compare the security of different divisions or business units.
Using the ability to drill down and compare effectiveness will help CISOs prioritize what areas of the business need improvement based on risk assessments and can communicate the criticality of these comparisons to board leaders. This visibility will also help board members understand what strategies work, where investment should be prioritized, and what is needed to further mature the cyber risk program.
A CISO dashboard should also give context to regulatory compliance progress, whether the company bases its strategy on the NIST CSF or a custom framework. The CISO needs to demonstrate the progress over time, the target, the average gap, and where the company can improve.
One way in which CISOs can further support their cybersecurity strategy is by translating cyber metrics into financial terms in the CISO board report. For example, the executive dashboard in the CyberStrong platform can pull from different risk models (such as FAIR or NIST 800-30) to help you prioritize your security investments. By speaking in terms senior leaders are more comfortable with, you can effectively communicate which areas of your organization are most at risk and what the monetary impact could be if not rectified.
Improve Communication with an Executive Dashboard
Overall, CISOs should leverage a cyber dashboard to better communicate the security posture to stakeholders and lead cyber-informed conversations. These insights will equip the CISO to drive the cybersecurity strategy toward proactive maturity. CISOs can transform their board presentations with real-time information and context to help secure the resources needed to protect the organization, achieve security goals, and further cement the importance of cyber risk management among the board.
A cybersecurity dashboard, like CyberStrong’s Executive Dashboard, will provide valuable insights that inform and guide the cybersecurity strategy by quickly identifying areas of cybersecurity risk, tracking progress, and prioritizing investments that will improve the overall security posture and help in communicating effectively with stakeholders. This dashboard is essential for empowering CISOs with the metrics they need to present successfully to the board.
Learn more about CyberStrong’s Executive Dashboard in this webinar. Contact us to see how CyberStrong can help your CISO leverage cyber risk data for board meetings.
